Applications must be received on or before Sunday, August 20, 2023.
Don Giovanni by W.A. Mozart (full production with orchestra), sung in Italian.
The Schwabacher Summer Concert (staged scenes program with orchestra) - All voice types considered for this program. Repertoire will be chosen to showcase participating artists.
Song Recital - a concert showcasing a vast array repertoire chosen to showcase participating singers and pianists.
The Merola Grand Finale (concert with full orchestra) - concert featuring all Merola singers on the stage of the War Memorial Opera House
Repertoire subject to change.
The Merola Opera Program, under the artistic direction of the San Francisco Opera Center, offers performance, training, and career development opportunities for young professional singers, coach/pianists, and stage directors. Applications must be received on or before Sunday, August 20th.
In addition to performance opportunities, all singers and pianists will have the opportunity to audition on the stage of the War Memorial Opera House for San Francisco Opera's General Director, Music Director, and Managing Director: Artistic. Each singer and pianist will also participate in a public masterclass conducted by internationally renowned artists.
Participants receive daily individual musical and vocal coaching, diction coachings, instruction in acting and stage deportment, movement, financial planning/fiscal responsibility, mental health/wellness, leadership coaching, physical health/well-being, and public relations/branding from leading professionals in the opera field.
For further information, please visit: https://merola.org.
(Resident Artists of San Francisco Opera)
Each year singers and pianists are chosen from the Merola Opera Program to join the prestigious Adler Fellowship Program. The Adler program gives 10-12 young artists a year a performance-oriented experience, providing individualized, holistic and advanced training. Adler Fellows are engaged for roles in San Francisco Opera’s season, as well as performing in Opera Center programs and activities. The Adler Fellowship is a renewable yearlong residency and is a salaried position with full benefits.
San Francisco Opera Center may engage Merola singers for a debut recital to take place in the winter or spring of 2024 in San Francisco. These recitals have been endowed in perpetuity by the generosity of celebrated Bay Area singer, scholar, and teacher James Schwabacher.
No application fee is required.
There is no age limit for prospective applicants.
Please Note: All application materials must be submitted by the application deadline. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.
Applicants chosen for an in-person audition will be notified approximately 3 weeks before their audition date.
Photo ID and proof of COVID vaccination will be required for all in-person auditions.
Pianist/coach applicants granted an audition must choose ONE option from EACH of the following five categories. All selections are to be PLAYED AND SUNG by the applicant. Sight Reading will be included in the audition.
-EITHER the Act 1 finale from Don Giovanni OR the Act 2 finale from Le nozze di Figaro
-A brief secco recitative from a Mozart opera
-An aria or scene from an opera by Puccini or Richard Strauss
-One aria from a Bel Canto opera
-One art song
Pianist/coaches should be prepared to begin their live audition with a selection of their choice, after which the audition panel may ask for additional selections.
Please note: Merola Opera Program does not permit audition swapping. If you are unable to attend your assigned audition, please contact auditions@merola.org for assistance.
A weekly stipend is provided.
The Merola Opera Program provides a weekly stipend, round-trip transportation from place of residence to San Francisco, and shared-accommodation housing.
Please note: the Merola Opera Program only provides housing to participants and does not provide housing to spouse/partner, children, other relatives, or pets.
For five years after leaving Merola, alumni may be eligible, with Merola's approval, to receive up to a total of $12,000 in career grants, with a maximum of $6,000 in any single year.
San Francisco, CA USA
